1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of excimer lasers and more particularly to an argon-fluorine cartridge excimer laser system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Excimer lasers are a family of lasers in which light is emitted by a short-lived noble gas-halide molecule, composed of one noble gas atom, such as argon, krypton or xenon, and one halogen atom, such as fluorine, chlorine or bromine. These lasers are the most powerful practical ultraviolet lasers and have applications in the medical field and in high technology industrial systems.
Existing excimer laser systems have a number of drawbacks which are directly related to the halogens employed to generate the laser beam. Since halogens are the most chemically reactive elements, this component of the gas mixture tends to combine with other chemicals present in the system, i.e. the container, seal and valve materials. The halogen component is eventually depleted over time. As a result, the laser reservoir must be evacuated and refilled with the proper gas mixture on a regular basis. This potentially hazardous, technically demanding, and labor intensive procedure increases the operating and maintenance costs as well as the downtime of existing systems.
In addition, current excimer laser systems typically require a large amount of auxiliary equipment due to the hazardous nature of the halogen gas present. The auxiliary equipment required includes gas cylinders, regulator systems, pressure delivery systems with connecting hoses, vacuum pumps, scrubber systems, and numerous filters, valves and tubes. This equipment occupies a large amount of physical space, usually filling a whole room. Therefore, the operator must be trained to handle not only the hazardous halogen gas, but all of the auxiliary equipment as well. The technical training required for operation of the auxiliary equipment contributes to the cost of existing excimer laser systems.